Lab Members
ADRIEN FINZI is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at Boston University. He is the prinicipal investigator of the Finzi Lab, the co-director of the Boston University Stable Isotope Laboratory, and Chair of the PhD Certificate Program in Terrestrial Biogeoscience. He has taught several courses in the College of Arts and Sciences at the graduate and undergraduate level, including general ecology, terrestrial biogeochemistry, and the colloquium in terrestrial biogeosciences. Prior to joining BU, Adrien was the Alexander Hollaender Postdoctoral Fellow at Duke University. His full CV can be found here.
ALLISON GILL is an ecologist and biogeochemist interested in how plant-microbial interactions impact ecosystem function and soil carbon storage in northern systems. As a PhD candidate, her current research investigates the impact of climate-change associated reductions in peatland water table height on microbial growth and community structure, enzyme production, and greenhouse gas emission in a large peatland near Orono, Maine. As microbial communities mediate both peat decomposition processes and plant nutrient uptake, their functional responses to climate change will likely impact the carbon balance of terrestrial systems. Allison is also using auto chambers to measure methane and carbon dioxide fluxes at the Department of Energy’s SPRUCE (Spruce and Peatland Responses to Climate and Environmental Change) Experiment near Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The SPRUCE experiment attempts to understand the integrated impacts of climate change on peatland ecosystem function through air warming, deep soil warming, and elevated atmospheric CO2 treatments. Her full CV can be found here.
MUSTAFA SAIFUDDIN is a PhD student interested in microbial community composition, mycorrhizal biogeochemistry, and carbon cycle modeling.
I-FANG HSIEH is a PhD Student interested in peatland methane and CO2 fluxes in response to global change.
MARC-ANDRE GIASSON is the Finzi Lab manager. He has a master’s degree in forest science and previously worked as a research professional on eddy covariance sites in Quebec with the aim of measuring CO2 exchange between forests and the atmosphere. Marc’s main position since 2010 has been as lab technician in the Finzi lab, with responsibilities ranging from the day-to-day operation of the laboratory as well as computer programming, sample processing, data analysis, production of peer-reviewed scientific articles, and collaboration with scientists from other research organizations. He also trains and supervises research assistants. Overall, Marc just makes sure anything that needs to happen in the lab does happen. He also works part-time in the Hutyra lab as a “consultant/resident specialist” on eddy covariance and environmental sensors, where he helps test and deploy atmospheric CO2 measurement systems. His full CV can be found here.
SELECTED FORMER LAB MEMBERS
Patrick Sorensen — Currently post-doctoral researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Rose Abramoff — Currently post-doctoral researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Poliana C. L. Raymer — Currently Adjunct Faculty at Santa Monica College
Edward Brzostek — Currently Associate Professor at West Virginia University
John Ellis Drake — Currently research fellow at University of Western Sydney
Vikki Rodgers — Currently Associate Professor at Babson College
